Across the pond, People.
I’m here. London. I’m not freaking out like I usually do when I travel abroad. I usually feel detached and weird and alone in a stranded kind of way as I wander the streets of another country. Come to think of it, I feel that way wherever I travel if I’m alone. I am not alone. I met Sarah the Painter here.
I have a show tonight at the Royal Festival Hall and Sarah has a show Tuesday at the Tim Taylor Gallery. We’re doing the business.
I am nervous about the show tonight but I’ve been doing this a while. It should be good. It’s a big place. I sold it out. I should be thrilled but that makes me nervous. There is no winning in my head.
I’ve done a lot of travelling in the last few days. I flew into JFK last Wednesday and stayed at The Crown Plaza by the airport. Hotels by the airport, any airport, are a bit tweaky. I know it’s probably just travelers and flight crew but it seems like there is some shady doings going on. Maybe I’m projecting but it just looked like a few wrongminded folks doing some international dirty deals milling about. It could’ve just been some angry Russian guys waiting for an Uber. I don’t know. Is that racist? Probably.
I woke up Thursday morning to pick up a car for a night. I thought I had reserved one of those nice Infinity/Cadillac SUV things but when I arrived there was a giant black Escalade in my pick up spot. I got in it and realized this is something you get picked up in on someone else’s dime, not something you drive. I almost just took it but I felt ridiculous. So, because it was just overnight, I rented a Dodge Charger which is a whole other type of ridiculous. It’s important that I rent something like that once a year so I don’t rationalize buying one on some dumb, cock-driven impulse. It was fun. I drove four hours to Williamstown to do an ‘in conversation’ gig at Williams College about the ‘secular Jewish art of intimacy in conversation.’ Yeah, I didn’t know what it meant either but I rolled with it. It was me being interviewed by a Religious Studies professor named Jefferey Israel. Yup, it was pretty Jewy, but fun.
I stopped at MASS MoCA in North Adams on the way and it was spectacular. Go if you are in the area, or make a special trip.
Then I drove back, dropped the car off at Kennedy, and took the Airtrain to my terminal seven hours early. There just wasn’t enough time to do anything with the day really. There was plenty of time for me to justify upgrading to first class since I had just been paid pretty well to talk about being a Jew who really isn’t that Jewy anymore. I spent a few hours in the Concorde Room eating and spreading my post-its and yellow pads out to organize the thoughts I wrote down over the last, I don’t know, year. I was proud to be working from paper, old school. I looked like a lunatic but fuck it.
So, I got on the plane and had my bed made and slept for bit and I was in England. It was the illusion of sleep but it got me through. I’ll let you know how the show goes on Thursday.
Today I talk to Aisha Tyler who is going through a bit of a life shift. Also, I talk a little bit to Louie Anderson who has a new book out. He’s very funny. It’s always good to see him. On Thursdayme and manic Sam Tripoli talk about comic life, conspiracies and his dad among other things. Great talks.
Enjoy!
Boomer lives!
Love,
Maron